The leftovers ending review

We never actually find out if the scientists' Departure-replicating experiment actually worked in "The Book of Nora." Either way, when Kevin shows up at her doorstep, her days of pining for a reunion with her children are well behind her. When he pretends they never dated and takes her out as if for the first time, they feel as effortlessly bound to each other as they did on the night of the school dance.

And when he confesses he's been searching the world for her all these years, she has to tell him something.

The series finale of leftovers Part of our human experience on this planet is finding peace in an existence defined by the unknown. Although we may seek calm in religion, in science, we'll never know the answers to those existential questions which have driven humanity since they crawled out of caves. Yes, we've unlocked a deeper understanding of physics and chemistry and comfort in Christianity or Buddhism, but that greater question—"why? The Leftovers never set out to answer these bigger questions. It's a TV show—that would be ridiculous.

It doesn't matter, of course, if what she tells him is the truth. The fact that he believes her story about the parallel world is enough to perfectly cap off their romance. The simple beauty of this ending is what made it so universally beloved by everyone, from fans to critics to casual viewers.

But there are even deeper layers to "The Book of Nora." As a final thematic statement, it clarifies Nora's existential conflict and offers her the possibility of solace for the first time.

Nora finally admits to herself that she wants to see her family again and that a life investigating fake departures will simply harm other people's healing processes without advancing her own.

The series finale of leftovers cast William Somerset Morgan Freeman , Seven. Damon Lindelof has spent more than a year tamping down expectations for the final episodes of The Leftovers. Everything is answered. And then it ends. What happened to Laurie?

Whether she learns that her family is better off without her or that they're definitively gone, she can never go back to a life built on denial. So she absconds to a quiet rural life, where she can simply exist, without worrying about the "why"s.

This enables The Leftovers to put forth its ultimate conclusion about life, faith, and the universe, by way of Kevin's return.

No matter what really happened to Nora, she couldn't get an answer for why the departure occurred, and when she gave up on finding that answer, she also gave up on having a purpose altogether. Kevin's peaceful assertion that he believes her story, just because he wants to, demonstrates that life's purpose is not given, but created.

It opens Nora's eyes to the possibility of being with Kevin simply because she wants to. And if they can have faith in each other after everything that's happened, then it's also possible for us to have faith — be it spiritual, emotional, moral — in something we choose to, no matter how mysterious this world gets.